All about Emmy-Ems

Let's talk about our Littlest E! Since I left things hanging at 36 weeks pregnant, it only seems right that I dedicate this entire post to the newest member of the family. Emmy Kate was born on August 29, 2016 at 6 lbs, 10 oz. The best way I can describe her is an absolute JOY...this includes now and even during the "newborn trenches"! 

Emmy has such a sweet little personality and a smile that melts our hearts. She is a very easy going, low-key and go with the flow kind of baby. I think I birthed one of those mythical unicorn babies....parents often refer to them as "good babies". Ella gave us a rough start, mainly due to her tummy troubles, so you can't really compare (and shouldn't). Since I don't want to jinx things, I'm not going to get into what a great napper and sleeper she is...and how she is smiling most of the time. Ha! 

Ella is a phenomenal big sister and of course, a great helper like Stephen and I knew she would be. People often ask me if she experienced jealousy. She absolutely did, but in never presented in any animosity between her and Emmy. Instead, she demonstrates it through attention seeking behaviors. She absolutely adores her Little Sis! Now that Emmy is more interactive, Ella gets the biggest kick out of playing with her. All day long Ella says things like "isn't she cute", and "awwwwww, look at Emmy". I love how she loves her and is just as fascinated with her as Stephen and I are! We are all enjoying watching this baby girl grow. Why does it have to be happening so fast?! 

As of now, Emmy is in full-on crawling mode, is always trying to pull herself up and she cruises around in her walker like a boss. It's hilarious to watch her fly across the wood floors and crash into things! She also has found her voice recently and is always trying to copy us and even sings too. Speaking of singing, she LOVES the movie 'Sing'....even the cover of the blue ray makes her excited! Anything with music she loves because bopping along and clapping is her favorite. She is just so happy and sweet! So far, she claps, stomps, waves, blows little kisses and pretends to talk on the phone. No joke, her first official words were "Aunt Laura"...referring to one of her little people with blonde hair! We call her Emmy-Emys, Em, Ems, Emmy Face...sometimes I call her my meatball baby, or my "Shnookies" (not sure where that came from but it really stuck for me). 

It's been a blast being home with her this summer vacation. The timing is perfect because she's changing and learning so much by the day.  Hubs and I are thrilled to have another little Skoblicki girl to love on! Now if only time would slow down!

Dear El + Em

Oh, Hi! It's been a while, huh?! 

A few nights ago, I was going through my e-mail....I mean REALLY going through it. Deleting, unsubscribing, the first step in organizing my life like I said I'd do this summer vacation (that's now halfway over). What a cluster! Things had gotten a tad bit out of control. The e-mail icon on my phone had been haunting me for a while. How did I things get to this point? No idea! I'm the person who doesn't like ANYTHING hanging over my head...let alone WELL over 1,000 e-mails! It wasn't work e-mail, these were 99.9% personal e-mails....and of course it was mostly junk. The only time I'd pop in was to check for Michael's coupons, or to check a tracking number for whatever the latest delivery was that I had on the way. However, buried amongst all the junk was a very important e-mail. My domain for "neverthesamespicetwice.com" was on the brink of expiring within the next few days! 

Yes, that was a whole lot of dramatic build up to get to the point...but for me this was a wake up call in so many ways. It's not like my blog would have disappeared if I didn't take action immediately, but it was time to make the dreaded decision. Should I stay, should I go, should I start over entirely. I've invested the past EIGHT years into this space. It's changed and grown along with me. The big move to Florida, an engagement, wedding planning, two pregnancies, bumpdates, motherhood. Let's not forget all the scrapbooking (old school "Day in the life of Sessy"), new friendships, jobs, recipes, meal plans, link ups and guest posts! There's no part of me that thinks of myself as a good writer, it's not like I'm one of those people who use writing as an outlet...maybe I do, but sometimes it can certainly feel like a chore.

I just simply like to document life. Yes, I have a tendency to highlight the positive for the most part of course, with some boring every day details that no one necessarily cares about thrown in there too. What are the things I want to remember? Am I marketing my "brand", or am I just using this as a place where I can compile my thoughts, share my favorite things and document life's blessing big and small? This blog is MY place, maybe I should just blog what I want and stop overthinking things. 

For now, I'm getting back to basics with a little good old fashioned "no-frills, no-pressure blogging". Who reads this thing anyway...and does that matter? I'm not trying to please the masses. There are two tiny people that I know will maybe want to read my thoughts some day...Ella Rose and Emmy Kate. These girls are my everything, I'd like to think that they would get a kick out of checking this place out. When I thought about starting completely over, I figured there's just too much history here it would be a shame not to keep it all together. So, here I am again. Same blog, a new name. I don't know how often I'll be around or exactly which direction is coming next. Let's just start here! I still love to cook, I feel like maybe I'll share an occasional recipe from time to time. Even though Hubs and I are nowhere near parenting experts, there are definitely certain aspects of this adventure that deserve to be documented! Besides my two girlies, the two new latest obsessions include essential oils (which I'd love to post about... Young Living distributor up in here, WOOT) and planner stickers (did you know that was even a thing...no really)! 

Boy, I'm glad that I finally decided (at 1:00 in the morning) to take charge of my life and sort that disastrous inbox out! It's amazing how simply changing a blog name can make you re-evaluate your entire life! Even though a few years ago I said I wasn't going to change it, it felt like it was now time. If not for any other reason, I needed to freshen things up in order to have a little added motivation. "Tacos and Target" was available....5 years ago, 20-something year old me would have been ALL over that! However, I needed something a little less trendy, and a little more personal! "Dear El and Em" seems perfect because at this point, the minute I open a draft or proofread a post....I'll be picturing reading it from their point of view, years from now. This is for me, but it's also for them. LOVE you both! 

Ella, 3 going on 13 - I mean 4 + Emmy, 10 months

(Mommy)